RETURN OF THE LASH

(director: Ray Taylor; screenwriter: Joseph O’Donnell; cinematographer: Ernest W. Miller; editor: Hugh Wynn; music: Walter Greene; cast: Lash La Rue (Cheyenne Davis), Al. ‘Fuzzy’ St. John (Fuzzy Jones), Mary Maynard (Kay Grant), Brad Slaven (Tom Grant), George Chesebro (Big Jim Kirby), Lee Morgan (Dan Clark), Rohn Gibson (Henchman Pete), Dee Cooper (Henchman Hank), Roy Butler (Sheriff), George DeNormand (Jeff Harper); Runtime: 53; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Jerry Thomas; Eagle-Lion; 1947)

“The thin story hardly seemed worth telling.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

Routine B Western directed by Ray Taylor and written by Joseph O’Donnell. The hero, dressed in all black and wielding a bullwhip, is the Cheyenne Kid (Lash La Rue) and his comic relief sidekick is Fuzzy Jones (Al. ‘Fuzzy’ St. John). They’ve been summoned to Kingston by Cheyenne’s friend Tom Grant over a range war between Big Jim Kirby (George Chesebro) and Jeff Harper (George DeNormand). For some inexplicable reason Kirby is buying up all the ranches by forcing them to sell and has employed a number of gunslingers to carry out his orders. Later it’s learned the reason is that the railroad plans on coming through, which will increase property values.

The film opens as two of Kirby’s henchmen force the sheriff (Roy Butler) to let loose two of Kirby’s hired gunmen. The ranchers caught in the middle, such as Dan Clark (Lee Morgan), are worried about losing their ranches. Tom and his sister Kay have enough money not to sell and their property is the most valuable since it holds the property rights, but there’s a lot of pressure put on them by Kirby to sell.

Clark and the other ranchers arrest Kirby’s men and by pooling the reward money they have enough not to foreclose. When Fuzzy transports the money back to them he’s ambushed on the trail, as Kirby’s men have inside info. Fuzzy loses the money and develops amnesia after he’s thrown from his horse while fleeing. But he filled the money bag with newspaper strips and hid the money before overtaken.

In the climactic scene Fuzzy recovers from his amnesia and the good guys bring the bad guys to justice and save the ranchers. The thin story hardly seemed worth telling.

REVIEWED ON 8/31/2005 GRADE: C